You all might have heard about farmers in distress in Vidharbha and Andhra Pradesh, but a new suicide theory is swiftly developing in also Madhya Pradesh due to increasing input cost and debt in agriculture. Whistle has sporadically been blown over the mounting use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture but there seems to be no behavioral change seen anywhere. The Petlawad block of tribal populace Jhabua district shows that the farms, crops and farmers here have been completely drowned in deadly synthetic chemicals. Alarmingly, here 600 to 800 kg of chemical fertilizers and 5 to ten 12 of chemical pesticides are used now in every hectare farmland, with the expectation that it will earn prosperity for them. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides by the farmers to seek maximum benefit of cash crops like cotton, tomato and chilly is six to eight times more than the official national average and 10 to 12 times more than MP’s average. Not only this, but the top addicts of chemical fertilizers like Punjab (209.59 kg per hectare), Andhra Pradesh (219.48) and Tamil Nadu (186.68) use far less of these fertilizers when compared to remote Petlawad block. Owing to extension of high-input cost cash crop farming, the loan on the farmers has become four times that of their annual income and the productivity of the land also has been negatively impacted.

According to the Economic Survey of Madhya Pradesh, in last five years (from 2004 to 2008), the production of cotton in district has reduced from 27225 bales (a bale of 170 kg each) to only 3983 bales. This is the period when Genetically Modified BT seeds were promoted by the multinationals and by the state as well. The soybean productivity has gone down 35 percent below the State average and the production of tomato is also going down, although there are efforts to increase the production by using chemical fertilizers. In the given scenario, tribal and farmer families are trying to increase yield and profit by increasing use of chemicals 60 kg per hectare per year. But in reality it is pushing then into the cycle of distress.

The condition that the farmers in Petlawad have presently reached can be termed as perilous times for farmlands and farmers. The switchover to cash crop and neglect of the traditional crops and organic farming systems that used less fertilizer, less pesticides and less water is proving to be very dear for the farmers. It is clear that when Bt Cotton was introduced in the area, the production increased at first in initial 2 years spectacularly, but after two years, from year 2005-06 the production started decreasing. The germination rate of the seeds also reduced from 85 pc to 27 pc as against the claims of the companies promoting GM seeds. The new seeds have also brought trouble for the cattle, as the crop does not produce enough fodder. Mangal of Thikaria village says ``Earlier we used to get 25 quintal cotton from our land but it has reduced to mere 3 quintal at present. This is one fourth of our input costs and there is no question of any profit. I have a debt of Rs 75000 on me now.’’

When the cotton crop failed, the businessmen from Delhi and Mumbai prepared the local farmers to go for a second crop of tomato with the help of local moneylenders, shopkeepers and even the government machinery. The claim was that the profit would be to the tune of Rs 40 to 60000 per hectare. The farmers hit by cotton tried to find solace in tomato crop. Local farmer Laxman Singh Munia says that `` There is a cycle, the farmlands in which new variety of tomato is grown gives very good production for first year, but then it becomes unproductive for next three to four years. The new seeds squeeze out all the nutritious elements from the earth soil and thus the farmers have to use a lot of fertilizers next year to get average yield. At least 6 to 8 quintals of chemical fertilizers are used per hectare of land. Scandalously, there is no choice opposite to GM seeds available now for the farmer. Local and traditional seeds are totally out of the market now’’

In Jhabua the chemical fertilizer used per hectare was 20 kg in 1970 and has reached to an astounding 800 kg per hectare during the Kharif crop of 2009. To grow tomato in a hectare of land, Rs 9700 is spent only on chemical fertilizers. Tomato also needs six times more water compared to maize or pulses that are traditional crops here and thus every second year the district faces drought like conditions. When tomato and cotton farming led to losses during last few years, the farmers started sowing chilly crop but it too proved to be quite high-input experiment.

Market or companies give out loans only for particular kinds of company seeds and fertilizers, not for country or local seeds or organics. Loan is the basic need of these farmers because being total caught into a maze of debt, these people are not in position to invest cash for farming. Dealer of chemical fertilisers in Raipuria village Mukesh Choudhary says: `` the farmland size available with people is small and thus they are using immense amount of chemicals to increase productivity with the assumption that it will give them more profit. Companies that purchase tomato and chilly from the farmers also tell that use of chemical fertilizers would lead of tomato having thick skin that would prevent it from early rotting and the size of the chilly would be longer.

Small farmer Rupchandra Bhuria of Morjharia says: ``the input cost doubles because we have to get these products in credit. The effort to come out of the loan cycle involves one more into it.’’ Local journalist Harish Pawar says: ``when modified seeds and chemical fertilizers are sold, information is given only about their capacity to increase productivity. Farmers are not told as to in what condition would be productivity increase. One cycle of cropping puts a small farmer into a debt of Rs 15-20000. The average loan on farmers in 1991 was Rs 2500 and it has increased to over Rs 35000 now’’. The wave of promoting new technologies is producing new catastrophic challenges; remember not only for formers but for larger society as well.

Life in debt….Story continues in Jhabua

Due to the changes in crop cycle and agriculture priorities the tribal and non-tribal farmers of Petlawad area of Jhabua district have landed into a vicious cycle of loan and debt. Each family now has grabbed in average Rs 35-38000 of debt on it because of augment in cost of input of agriculture.

Turning to cash crops instead of the traditional crops is leaning heavy on the shoulders of the small and marginal farmer categorically. The exercise of BT cotton that was promoted as white gold’ has been now reduced to one-third of original. As per statistics of the MP Agriculture Department, in year 2005-06, the productivity of cotton in Jhabua was 442 kg per hectare, but reduced to 370 kg in 2006-07 and as low as 151 kg in 2008-09. Even for soybean crop, the district with production of 775 kg per hectare has started to lag considerably behind the State average of 1143 kg per hectare.

The annual income of the entire Lalyarundi village in district is Rs 5.02 lakh, but the total debt on the families residing there is whopping Rs 16.07 lakh. The debt on villagers of Kajbi is Rs 63.29 lakh, while the annual total income is only Rs 13.93 lakh. Each family here earns an average of Rs 10079 per year, but has debt of about Rs 38094.

When the annual income and debt situation of ten villages in the area was analyzed, shocking situation was revealed. While the total annual income of these villages is Rs 1.10 crore, the total debt is as much as Rs 4.18 crore – four time of the income. The highest portion of loan – Rs 3.06 crore – has been sought for agriculture related works. Only one third of this loan has been sought from banks or other financial committees, while rest is to be paid to local moneylenders or retailers of fertilizers and seeds.

It’s a very controlled system of pushing people in debt. Now loans are not provided in cash only. The agriculture material dealers’ sale pesticides, fertilizers and agri-equipments to farmers here in credit and recovers double cost. These local dealers, in many cases, also work as purchase agents for Delhi or Mumbai based giant traders. The retailers, company agents, wholesale dealers, middlemen and moneylenders are quite secure about their investment as they purchase the crops from farmers at lower rate in exchange of the loan and debts. As per local activist and farmer Laxman Singh, the tradition of contract farming is ruling roost as businessmen from bigger cities are making the farmers take upon farming of tomato and chilly as per their need. The farmers who are caught in the loan cycle now consider cash crops as their last option.

Senior farmer from village Morjharia, Ramje says ‘that earlier, the loan cycle was yearly, which meant that the loan taken would be paid every year, but now it keeps on heaping because farming is leading to loss after loss in search of more profit. We have taken steps bigger than our capacity now if we think of paying up entire debt we would have to hand over our entire earning of four years to these people. The debt yet won’t be finished because every year interest of 36 pc would be added.’

It is true that the input cost of agriculture has gone up considerably because of expensive seeds and fertilizers. In present agriculture system farmers don’t get re-producible seeds, new hybrid or GM seeds can be used for one crop only and for next crop they again have to go to the market to purchase new seeds at very high cost. The cost of 10 gram tomato seed moves between 350 to 1500 rupees and 10 gram Chilly seeds can only be purchased at the rate of 200 to 600 rupees in Petlawad market. The costs of new seeds are leaving behind silver, which can be purchased at lesser price. Earlier farmers used to produce their own seeds, but market has damaged their self-reliant system in the name of progressive agriculture. Presently cost of tomato production is approximately 94 thousand rupees per hectare, but farmers are getting only 50 thousand rupees back.

The so-called progressive agriculture has also left no positive environment for livestock, as majority of cash crops do not produce eatables (fodder or green grass) for animals. It has also led to a situation where even the small farmers are using tractors and threshers for agriculture work as they do not have any cattle left. How would the cattle survive then? As there are no cattle left, chances of producing bio-fertilizers have also ended. The basic works of farming including sowing and others were done with hands and by using cattle and did not involve any additional input. But now the entire work is done with tractor. Those who rent out tractors, charge 8 kg of grains per quintal (of maize and soybean). The reaping (crop cutting) work is done by threshers that are available at the rate of 5 kg grain per quintal of reaping. 11 percent of the total produce goes to the account of these machines. The farmers with 5 acres of land are not even in a position to earn three months work of minimum wages for agricultural workers.

In final years of 1990s, the debt owing to agriculture started increasing and the tribal-farmers resorted to cash crops to repay the loan. They then looked up to chemical fertilisers to increase production. Social worker Nilesh Desai is of opinion that the cycle of loan started with soybean but was not yet too vicious, but the entry of Bt Cotton led to such a complicated cycle that the farmers knew the way to get into it, but did not know the way out. The more they try to get out of it, the more they get entangled. Bt Cotton, tomato and chilly proved to crops with very high input costs. The farmers have to spend Rs 2500 per hectare only for the seeds.

Total 86 percent of the Jhabua’s populace is tribal and 71 pc families are below poverty line (BPL). The land holding size is average 3 acre and the per capita income of the district is merely Rs 8541 per year. The chemical infestation of farms and high-end commercialization of agriculture amidst such poor indices is a matter of serious concern.